Contract for the supply of a bus communications and information system and related services

Contracts

• Contract for the supply of a bus communications and information system and related services · Trapeze ITS Switzerland GmBH Limited

  Signed

  4 May 2005

  Value

  £317,690,862

  Status

  active

  • Change As explained in section II.2.4 above, in 2005 LBSL (a subsidiary of TfL) awarded a 10-year contract to Siemens for the bus communication system known as iBus (the Contract). The Contract was novated to Trapeze in October 2009, when Trapeze purchased the relevant business. In 2015, the parties agreed to extend the Contract from May 2015 for up to 7 years, such that it would terminate in May 2022. TfL is competitively procuring the next generation system, iBus2, under PCR. The iBus2 procurement comprises two lots: the on-bus systems and the back-office systems (both of which are currently provided by Trapeze). TfL initially expected the iBus2 procurement to be completed before 2022. However, the iBus2 procurement has taken longer than foreseen and is still ongoing. Consequently, LBSL needed to extend the Contract term on an interim basis so that Trapeze could continue to provide the iBus services while the iBus2 procurement is completed. On 27 April 2022, LBSL and Trapeze entered into an agreement to extend the Contract for a period of eight weeks from 4 May 2022, expiring on 30 June 2022 ("the Short-term Extension") (see Modification Notice 2022/S 000-011568). On 20 June 2022 LBSL and Trapeze entered into a further agreement which will extend the Contract for up to a further 5 years (an initial term that takes the duration of the Short-term Extension plus the further extension to a total of 3 years, plus options for two additional one-year extensions) until May 2027 ("the Medium-term Extension") in order to allow for completion of the iBus2 procurement and an orderly and low-risk transition to the resulting new arrangements. LBSL considers that the Medium-term Extension benefits from the exemption for "additional services" that is laid down in Regulation 72(1)(b) of the PCR. The provision of the additional iBus services over an additional 3 years (the combined remaining term under the Short-term Extension and the further Medium-term Extension), with options under the Medium-term Extension to extend for two further years, has become necessary for LBSL to ensure continuation of the iBus services while the procurement of iBus2 is completed and to enable an orderly and low-risk transition to the iBus2 services. Running a competitive tender for a short or medium-term extension, ahead of completing the iBus2 procurement, would involve significant inconvenience and substantial duplication of costs for LBSL. It may also further delay completion of the iBus2 tender process. For more details of the reasons, please see section VII.2.2 below., Need for additional works, services or supplies by the original contractor/concessionaire: Given the complexity of the iBus system and number of buses in service in London, it is not viable for TfL or LBSL to bring in a different contractor on a short/medium-term basis in a way that safeguards the continued operation of LBSL's iBus (and wider bus) services, pending completion of the iBus2 procurement. LBSL has concerns relating to the interoperability of any new on-bus/back office solution and the 'turnkey' Trapeze solution, i.e. the required interface may not be viable, such that the iBus2 procurement would still need to be for the whole of the current iBus2 scope and therefore any interim solution might need to be transitioned to a replacement iBus2 solution. This would leave LBSL bearing high capex costs for the interim solution which would not otherwise be incurred by LBSL if it were to proceed with the Extension and then transition to the end-to-end iBus2 solution. Thus the cost of bringing in a different contractor on a short or medium-term basis would be prohibitive.

Dispute resolution & review bodies

• High Court (England, Wales and Northern Ireland)Review body London